The  Normal 
School  Quarterly 

Series  9 January  1911  Number  58 

UNIVERSITY  Qfr  1LLI(V^F»-  ----  - 

mi 

FRKSIUiCjNT'fj  OINPICB. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  READING 

IN  THE 

INTERMEDIATE  GRADES 

By  HELEN  E.  PURCELL 

Training  Teacher,  Illinois  State  Normal  University 

Knterd  August  18, 1902,  at  Normal.  Illinois,  as  second-class  matter. 

under  Act  of  Congress  of  July  16, 1894. 

PUBLISHT  BY  THE  ILLINOIS  STATE 

NORMAL  UNIVERSITY,  NORMAL,  ILLINOIS 

UNIVERSITY  Oh  ILLINOIS 


PMBgpgNT’S  OFFICB. 

Normal  School  Quarterly 


Publisht  by  the 

Illinois  State  Normal  University , Normal, 

Illinois 

Series  9 

JANUARY,  1911 

No.  38 

The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades 

The  teaching  of  reading  in  the  intermediate  grades  will 
be  considerd  under  three  main  heds1 — 

1.  What  is  the  function  of  the  reading  exercize? 

2.  What  material  shall  form  the  basis  for  our  instruc- 
tion? 

3.  How  shall  we  present  this  material  so  that  the  answer 
to  our  first  question  may  be  realized? 

THE  AIM 

In  its  broadest  sense  the  reading  exercize  should  have 
as  an  end  the  making  of  the  individual  a more  efficient  mem- 
ber of  the  social  whole.  The  teacher  should  aim  to  develop 
the  ethical  sense  and  cultivate  courage  and  adaptability. 
He  should  assist  the  children  in  gaining  power  over  symbols, 
and  in  interpreting  the  printed  page.  He  should  develop  in 
them  the  power  of  language;  their  English  should  grow 
stronger  and  purer,  and  they  should  secure  the  ability  to  ex- 
press easily,  distinctly,  and  effectivly  the  thought  and  emo- 
tion of  the  author. 

THE  MATERIAL 

The  material  used  must  have  in  it  the  elements  which  will 
enable  the  teacher  to  secure  these  results.  To  make  an  intel- 
ligent selection  we  must  study  the  child  himself.  We  should 
know  his  needs  and  dreams  and  growing  possibilities.  JDur- 


lThe  spellings  recommended  by  the  Simplified  Spelling  Board  are  used. 


2 Normal  School  Quarterly 

ing  the  intermediate  age  the  child  is  full  of  an  activity  in 
which  the  imagination  creates  and  leads.  Nature  in  her 
thousand  aspects  is  full  of  mystery  and  question.  He  abhors 
restraint  and  glories  in  a wild  freedom  and  strong  courage  such 
as  we  find  in  those  heroes  who  dwelt  close  to  nature’s  hart 
when  time  and  man  were  in  their  infancy.  He  is  moved  by 
rhythm  and  music,  sound  is  for  him  a medium  of  joy  and  his 
dramatic  instinct  moves  him  to  an  activity  that  may  be  imi- 
tativ  or  original.  His  sense  of  humor  is  strong,  but  it  is  of 
that  quality  which  we  may  imagin  moved  primeval  man  to 
merriment.  What  material,  we  ask,  will  best  suit  the  cravings 
and  activities  of  this  many-sided  intermediate  child?  Evi- 
dently the  adventure,  the  hero  tale,  the  sonorous  poem, 
simple  scientific  material,  and  such  humorous  tales  as  appeal 
to  his  nature  and  experience.  No  two  courses  will  have  the 
same  selections  thruout,  yet  all  may  be  equally  satisfactory. 
However,  such  literature  as  “Robin  Hood,”  “Robinson  Cru- 
soe,” “Roland  and  his  Horn,”  the  old  Greek  hero  tales,  “Ad- 
ventures of  King  Arthur,”  extracts  from  the  Sagas  and  other 
folk  tales,  selections  from  Holmes,  Saxe,  Kipling,  biografies 
of  noted  patriots  and  inventors,  “Visit  to  a Reindeer  Camp,” 
and  “The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish”  will  find  a place  in 
every  course  of  study  in  reading  pland  for  the  intermediate 
grades. 

THE  METHOD 

The  as-  Our  next  problem  deals  with  methods  thru  which 
sign  men  t.  we  may  hope  to  realize  the  function  of  the  reading 
lesson.  Nearly  every  exercize  in  reading  resolvs  itself  into 
two  parts — the  assignment  and  the  recitation.  Upon  the  re- 
quirements of  the  assignment  depends  largely  the  success  of 
the  recitation.  These  requirements  will  vary  with  the  grade. 
In  the  fourth  grade  they  will  be  of  a simple  character  and  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  recitation  period  may  be  required 
to  prepare  the  class  for  attacking  the  problems.  Children 
should  never  be  given  an  indefinit  assignment.  Difficulties 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  8 

of  such  a character  as  the  average  child  cannot  overcome 
should  be  foreseen  and  removed.  The  assignment  should 
aim  to  stimulate  thought  and  insure  effort.  In  the  recitation 
the  problems  should  create  new  thought  activities,  but  they 
should  be  of  such  a character  that  the  child  who  has  solvd 
the  assignment  will  be  able  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
recitation. 

An  This  can  be  made  clearer  by  an  example.  The  se- 
example.  lection  was  taken  from  Longfellow’s  Hiawatha.  The 
unit  of  instruction  was  eighty  lines  in  Hiawatha’s  Childhood 
beginning  with 

By  the  shores  of  Gitchee  Gurnee 
By  the  shining  Big  Sea  Water. 

The  aim  of  the  lesson  was  twofold,  (1)  to  make  the  childhood 
of  Hiawatha  a reality,  and  (2)  to  develop  the  power  to  secure 
thought  from  the  printed  page.  As  a preparation  for  the 
study  of  the  assignment  the  proper  names  and  two  or  three 
other  words  difficult  of  pronunciation  were  placed  upon  the 
board  and  a drill  exercize  given.  The  fact  was  brought  out 
that  northern  lights  are  rarely  seen  in  this  latitude  but  that 
farther  north  they  occur  frequently  and  are  very  brilliant. 
Each  child  was  askt  to  look  for  the  Milky  Way  that  evening. 
The  assignment  was  then  placed  upon  the  board  and  red  to 
the  children  with  such  remarks  as  would  tend  to  awaken 
their  enthusiasm.  The  pupils  have  a twenty-minute  study 
period  in  school,  and  while  they  are  not  required  to  read  their 
lesson  at  home  it  is  hoped  so  to  inspire  them  that  they  will 
of  their  own  accord  do  some  home  work  in  reading. 

The  following  was  the  assignment: 

Locate  Gitchee-Gumee. 

Describe  Hiawatha’s  home. 

What  things  did  Nokomis  teach  Hiawatha? 

What  questions  did  Hiawatha  ask  Nokomis? 

What  was  the  answer  to  each  question? 

Which  one  of  the  stories  that  Nokomis  told  do  you  like 
best? 


4 Normal  School  Quarterly 

Find  two  songs  in  the  assignment. 

Try  to  compose  music  for  one  of  them. 

The  recitation  In  the  recitation  an  effort  was  made  to  bring 

supplements  to  the  mind  of  the  child  an  image  which, 
assignment  while  it  containd  the  elements  of  the  image 
and  study.  created  by  the  assignment,  yet  in  itself  was 
a different  image.  For  example,  the  assignment  asks  the 
child  to  decribe  Hiawatha’s  home.  In  the  recitation  the  child  is 
askt  “If  you  should  paint  a scene  that  would  include  Hia- 
watha’s home,  what  would  you  put  into  the  picture?”  Several 
members  of  the  class  wrote  music  for  the  song  Nokomis  sang 
to  Hiawatha.  They  were  beautiful  little  melodies  and  were 
sung  with  an  expression  which  showd  that  their  child-compos- 
ers had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  selection.  This  singing  also 
awakend  the  emotions  of  the  remainder  of  the  class  and  made 
more  real  the  baby  Hiawatha  and  grandmother  Nokomis. 

This  lesson,  as  the  aim  states,  was  intended  to  make  the 
childhood  of  Hiawatha  real  and  to  develop  power  to  get 
thought  from  the  printed  page.  It  should  never  be  forgot- 
ten that  the  getting  of  the  thought  is  the  prime  motiv  in  a 
reading  lesson.  The  pronunciation  of  words  is  secondary 
Correct  and  is  but  one  of  the  many  means  to  this  end. 
pronunciation  However,  while  the  thought  may  be  fairly 
essential.  well  graspt  by  a halting  reader,  when  we  ac- 
cept this  sort  of  reading  we  lose  sight  of  two  functions  of  the 
reading  lesson  alredy  mentiond,  namely,  to  assist  the  child  in 
securing  control  of  symbols  and  to  develop  in  him  the  power 
of  oral  expression.  The  correct  pronunciation  of  words  can 
come  about  only  thru  drill  and  this  portion  of  the  reading  ex- 
ercize should  receive  the  same  attention  that  the  multiplica- 
tion tables  do  in  arithmetic. 

The  child  should  be  taught  to  secure  the  pronunciation 
of  a word  from  the  dictionary  or  thru  the  assistance  of  dia- 
critical marks,  but  such  requirements  should  not  be  burden- 
some. After  all,  the  natural  way  of  learning  words  is  thru  the 
ear.  Therefore  most  of  the  new  words  in  a selection  should 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  5 

be  pronounced  for  the  child  and  he  should  be  provided  with 
sufficient  opportunity  for  imitation  to  secure  easy  control  of 
the  sounds.  Children  of  this  age  enjoy  word  pronunciation. 
The  language  instinct  is  activ  and  they  like  to  roll  new  words 
on  their  tungs.  Therefore  drill  on  words  should  be  an  every- 
day part  of  the  lesson,  but  should  interfere  with  the  thought- 
getting as  little  as  possible. 

If  there  is  sufficient  preliminary  practis  upon  new  words, 
but  little  assistance  in  pronunciation  should  be  required  dur- 
ing the  reading  exercize.  If  some  help  is  necessary,  the 
child  should  be  given  the  word  and  allowd  to  go  on  with  the 
reading.  By  this  method  the  disturbance  of  thought  is  re- 
duced to  a minimum.  At  the  close  of  the  exercize  instruc- 
tion should  be  given  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  troublesome 
words. 

An  example  As  previously  stated  the  getting  of  the 
of  methodical  thought  is  the  prime  motiv  in  a reading  les- 

treatment  son.  Much  silent  reading  should  be  done  and 
the  content  given  orally.  In  lengthy  selections  it  is  often 
best  to  make  the  first  exercize  almost  entirely  a report  of  the 
thought.  For  example,  in  reading  “Roland  and  his  Horn” 
three  recitation  periods  were  devoted  to  interpreting  the 
story.  The  assignments  developt  the  pivotal  points.  Por- 
tions of  the  story  were  red  aloud  by  the  teacher  and  some 
oral  reading  was  done  by  the  class,  but  the  main  emphasis 
was  placed  upon  the  thought  and  its  expression  in  adequate 
language.  During  the  progress  of  this  work,  as  a part  of 
the  preparation  for  the  pupils’  study  of  the  assignment,  new 
words  were  placed  upon  the  blackboard  and  the  class  was 
taught  to  pronounce  them.  Also  the  children  were  askt  to 
make  a list  of  words  of  whose  pronunciation  they  were  not 
certain.  Before  taking  up  the  work  of  the  recitation  the 
lists  handed  in  were  compiled,  placed  upon  the  blackboard 
and  pronounced.  This  method  enabled  the  children  to 
use  the  new  words  in  relating  the  story  and  also  added  to 
their  preparation  for  the  oral  reading  which  came  later. 


6 


Normal  School  Quarterly 


Getting  the  Getting  clear  and  appropriate  meaning  of 
meaning  of  words  is  another  important  phase  of  the  read- 
words.  ing  work.  The  child  should  be  taught  to  con- 
sult the  dictionary  but,  as  cautiond  above,  such  requirements 
should  not  be  made  a burden.  In  many  schools  the  use  of 
the  dictionary  reacts  upon  the  reading  lesson  in  a way  that 
weakens  it  as  a thought- getting  exercize.  The  proper  way 
to  secure  the  meaning  of  some  words  is  thru  their  connection 
with  the  context.  After  the  definition  has  been  found  in  this 
way  the  word  may  be  lookt  up  in  the  dictionary  and  the 
meaning  arrived  at  verified.  At  the  same  time  it  will  be 
discoverd  that  some  words  have  more  than  one  meaning. 
Some  In  “The  Voyage  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor”  we 

examples.  find  the  following  passage,  “I  seemd  to  see 
distinctly  in  the  distance  a white  object  of  enormous  size.” 
It  is  apparent  that  the  word  ‘ ‘enormous”  describes  the  size 
of  the  object.  The  uselessness  of  sending  the  child  to  the 
dictionary  for  this  word,  however,  is  apparent  when  we  read 
the  passage  which  follows  it.  “I  then  descended  from  the 
tree  and  went  towards  it,  and  lo!  it  was  a large  white  dome 
of  great  hight.”  A better  method  of  attack  would  be  to  ask 
in  the  assignment,  “Why  does  Sinbad  speak  of  this  object  as 
of  enormous  size?”  When  reference  to  the  dictionary  is  nec- 
essary the  assignment,  if  possible,  should  add  more  than  the 
mere  definition  of  a word  to  the  thought- getting  possibilities 
of  the  exercize.  The  following  quotation  from  Hiawatha 
will  illustrate  this  point: 

Where  into  the  empty  spaces, 

Sinks  the  sun,  as  a flamingo 
Drops  into  her  nest  at  nightfall, 

In  the  melancholy  marshes. 

The  word  flamingo  will  need  to  be  defined  more  clearly  than  it 
is  in  the  passage.  However,  insted  of  saying  “Look  up  the 
meaning  of  the  word  flamingo  in  the  dictionary,”  it  would  be 
much  better  to  say  “Why  is  the  sun  likend  to  a flamingo?” 
The  child  would  undoubtedly  have  to  refer  to  the  dictionary 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  7 

in  order  to  solv  the  problem  but  he  would  have  a motiv  for 
his  effort.  Occasionally  a word  is  so  used  that  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  passage  necessitates  the  bare  definition  of  the 
word.  In  “King  Canute”  occurs  the  line,  “Sure,  my  lord,  it 
is  the  lampreys  servd  at  dinner  or  the  veal?”  In  this  case 
nothing  of  an  explanatory  or  connecting  character  joins  the 
word  “lampreys”  with  the  other  portions  of  the  selection. 
The  meaning  of  the  word,  however,  is  necessary  to  an  under- 
standing of  the  line  in  which  it  occurs.  Therefore  the  prop- 
er thing  to  do  is  to  refer  the  child  to  the  dictionary  for  its 
definition. 

The  emotional  It  is  often  assumed  that  if  we  solv  the  pro- 
element  in  nunciation  and  meaning  of  words  and  the 
reading.  thought-getting  part  of  an  exercize  the  oral 
expression  solvs  itself.  This  would  be  true  were  it  not  that 
there  is  an  intermediate  step — the  feeling  of  the  author’s 
emotions.  We  may  so  assist  the  child  with  his  thought- get- 
ting that  the  meaning  of  the  author  is  clear;  we  may  drill  him 
upon  the  difficult  words  until  his  speech  organs  respond  with 
rediness  and  accuracy;  yet  his  oral  expression  may  be  lifeless 
and  uninteresting.  The  oral  expression  of  a child  is  a reflec- 
tion not  of  what  he  knows  but  of  what  he  feels.  To  awaken 
in  the  child  a strong  sympathy  for  the  thought  of  the  author 
is  a problem  which  calls  for  a teacher’s  best  effort. 

The  selections  used  should  have  in  them  few  situations 
which  cannot  at  least  partially  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of 
Pupils’  experience  the  child’s  experiences.  Then  with  those 
the  basis  of  in-  experiences  as  a basis  the  teacher  should 
terpretation.  draw  upon  the  judgment  and  imagination 
of  the  child.  The  selection  from  “William  Tell”  that  deals 
with  the  shooting  of  the  apple  from  Albert’s  hed  illustrates 
this  point.  There  is  a father  who  loves  his  child,  a child 
who  loves  his  father  and  has  confidence  in  his  skill.  The 
love  of  the  father  for  Albert’s  mother  is  brought  out  and  her 
love  for  Albert  is  toucht  upon.  Gessler  is  the  villain  who 
wishes  to  hurt  Albert  and  Tell.  There  is  a touch  of  patriot- 


8 Normal  School  Quarterly 

ism — an  emotion  which  begins  its  development  in  the  inter- 
mediate period.  Then  there  is  the  trial  of  individual  skill 
which  is  one  of  the  dominant  characteristics  of  the  inter- 
mediate age.  Finally  the  good  is  successful,  the  bad  is  dis- 
comfited and  everything  ends  happily.  In  fact  it  is  full  of 
situations  which  each  child  has  experienced  in  different  de- 
grees. Let  us  illustrate  this  in  detail. 

Tell  says  this  to  his  son: 

An  Hit  thee!  Send 

example.  The  arrow  thru  thy  brain— or,  missing  that, 

Shoot  out  an  eye— or,  if  thine  eye  escapes, 

Mangle  the  cheek  I’ve  seen  thy  mother’s  lips 
Cover  with  kisses!  Hit  thee— hit  a hair 
Of  thee  and  cleave  thy  mother’s  hart?1 

Again  Tell  says, 

I will  not  make  the  trial, 

To  take  him  to  his  mother  in  my  arms, 

And  lay  him  down  a corpse  before  her! 

To  get  appropriate  emotional  response  to  the  thought 
in  these  lines  the  teacher  said,  “William  Tell  feard  that  he 
would  kill  Albert.  If  you  were  in  Albert’s  place  and  William 
Tell  were  your  father,  of  whose  feelings  would  he  think  even 
more  than  he  thought  of  his  own  feelings?”  A dozen  pupils 
were  redy  with  an  answer.  “The  father  would  think  of  the 
mother  even  more  than  he  thought  of  himself.”  The  chil- 
dren were  then  askt  to  read  the  passages  which  showd  that 
Tell  thought  of  Albert’s  mother  more  than  he  thought  of 
himself.  Needless  to  say  they  were  red  with  feeling.  For 
similar  reasons  Robinson  Crusoe  put  into  the  form  of  modern 
child-literature  is  excellent  matter  for  the  fourth  or  fifth 
grade.  It  is  full  of  situations  which  the  child’s  imagination 
redily  pictures  and  which  abound  in  problems  that  he  de- 
lights to  work  out. 


1 Sheriden  Knowles's  version  of  the  legend. 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  9 

Using  the  drama-  The  dramatic  instinct  in  children  of  this 
tic  instinct  for  se-  age  is  activ  and  should  be  taken  advantage 
curing,  (l)  reality,  of  to  make  the  events  and  emotions  of  the 
clearness,  ac-  selection  a real  experience.  For  example, 

curacy.  in  teaching  ‘ ‘William  Tell,”  when  the  pas- 

sages were  reacht  in  which  Albert  was  made  redy  for  the  trial 
different  boys  took  the  positions  occupied  by  Tell,  Albert, 
Gessler,  and  Werner.  Other  members  of  the  class  corrected 
a boy  who,  assuming  the  part  of  Albert,  placed  himself  with 
his  face  toward  Tell.  The  text  was  quoted, 

Take  the  boy 

And  set  him  Werner,  with  his  back  to  me. 

An  exercize  for  developing  and  training  the  imagination 
consists  in  dramatizing  a portion  of  a selection  in  which  only 
the  situation  is  given  and  the  dialog  must  be  composed.  The 
story  of  “Hercules  and  the  Golden  Apples”  as  given  in  Haw- 
thorne’s “Wonder  Book,”  is  in  almost  complete  dramatic 
form.  With  a few  interpolations  the  entire  story  may  be  red 
as  a drama.  At  one  point  in  the  story  the  following  para- 
graf  occurs: 

Hercules  then  askt  whereabouts  the  Old  One  was  most  likely 
to  be  met  with.  When  the  damsels  had  informd  him,  he  thank t 
them  for  their  kindness,  and  immediately  set  forth  upon  his  journey. 

In  this  paragraf  the  locality  to  which  the  maidens  di- 
rected Hercules  is  not  given,  but  a few  lines  farther  on  in  the 
story  this  is  included  in  the  description  which  the  author 
makes  of  Hercules’  finding  the  Old  One.  With  this  descrip- 
tion as  a basis  each  child  was  askt  to  write  the  missing  por- 
tion of  conversation  between  Hercules  and  the  maidens. 
After  listening  to  a reading  of  these  dramatizations  the  one 
which  the  class  decided  to  be  best  was  placed  upon  the  black- 
board by  the  author.  The  remainder  of  the  class  then  sug- 
gested corrections  and  changes.  Finally  it  was  written  upon 
the  board  in  its  corrected  form  and  used  at  the  proper  place 
insted  of  the  material  given  in  the  story. 


10 


Normal  School  Quarterly 


(2)  Natural  As  a motiv  for  further  study  of  this  se- 

and  strong  lection  it  was  suggested  that  another  class 
motiv.  be  invited  to  hear  the  entire  story  given  in 

dramatic  form.  This  presented  an  opportunity  for  develop- 
ing the  social  instincts.  Flowers  were  brought  to  decorate 
the  room.  A reception  committee  was  appointed  and  the 
guests  were  receivd  and  seated.  In  this  lesson,  as  with 
most  dramatizations  connected  with  the  reading  exercize, 
the  parts  were  not  memorized.  The  book  was  used  thruout. 
Unless  the  selection  has  sufficient  literary  value  to  justify 
the  expenditure  of  time  an  exercize  of  this  kind  should  not 
be  memorized.  The  aim  of  such  lessons  should  be  interpre- 
tation, rather  than  dramatic  display. 


Happy  Another  exercize  which  develops  in  the 

occasion  for  child  a sympathetic  understanding  of  litera. 
composition.  ture  consists  in  unifying  with  the  reading 
exercize  the  composition  of  the  short  story  and  the  verse. 
After  a sixth  grade  had  red  “A  Dog  of  Flanders”  a short  dog 
story  was  given  to  each  child  to  read  to  the  class.  When 
this  was  completed  the  children  were  allowd  an  opportun- 
ity to  relate  other  dog  stories.  It  was  then  suggested  that 
each  one  in  the  class  write  a dog  story.  Interest  was  now  at 
a white  heat.  All  of  the  stories  produced  indicated  a strong 
desire  to  express  thought  and  some  of  them  were  produc- 
tions of  exceptional  merit. 

Composition  After  composing  a poem  himself  the  child 

in  verse.  will  enjoy  poetry  as  he  never  enjoyd  it  be- 
fore, and  he  will  have  a basis  upon  which  to  bild  a notion 
of  the  principles  that  underlie  the  music  of  the  verse.  At 
first  this  work  should  be  taken  up  by  the  class  as  a whole 
and  the  result  should  be  a mutual  one.  All  should  be  en- 
couraged to  suggest,  to  write,  and  to  correct.  Even  the 
most  timid  can  be  brought  into  the  exercize  and  the  result 
will  bring  them  the  joy  that  comes  with  a realization  of  one’s 
own  ideals.  Thru  the  method  suggested  a fifth-grade  class, 
after  reading  several  Thanksgiving  poems,  wrote  the  follow- 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  11 

ing  verses.  They  were  afterward  set  to  music  during 
the  singing  period  and  used  as  a part  of  the  Thanksgiving 
exercizes. 

The  jolly  Thanksgiving  is  here  at  last 
What  fun!  What  fun! 

For  summer  and  autum  alredy  have  past, 

What  fun!  What  fun! 

The  trees  are  bare,  the  cold  winds  blow, 

And  winter  is  coming  with  ice  and  snow, 

What  fun!  What  fun!  What  fun! 

Hurrah  for  the  turkey,  and  pumpkin  pie, 

What  fun!  What  fun! 

The  table  is  redy  and  so  am  I, 

What  fun!  What  fun! 

And  all  are  merry  as  merry  can  be, 

For  Thanksgiving  is  here  with  all  its  glee, 

What  fun!  What  fun!  What  fun! 

One  may  ask,  how  are  such  verses  written  by  a class ? 
When  interest  had  been  aroused  in  composing  a Thanks- 
giving poem  each  child  was  askt  to  write  a first  line.  From 
these  one  was  chosen  and  placed  upon  the  board.  A boy 
suggested  “What  fun!  What  fun!”  as  a second  line.  This 
appeald  to  the  remainder  of  the  class  and  it  was  accepted. 
The  third  line  was  among  those  offered  for  a first  line  and 
in  making  a choice  the  class  had  been  divided  between  it  and 
the  one  finally  chosen.  Its  fitness  as  a third  line  was  at  once 
seen,  and  a suggestion  made  that  “What  fun!  What  fun!” 
be  repeated.  The  class  was  sent  to  the  board  to  write  the 
fifth  line.  This  line  was  more  difficult  but  was  finally  formd 
from  parts  of  two  different  lines.  It  was  first  written, 
“The  cold  winds  blow,  the  trees  are  bare.”  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  a number  of  words  riming  with  bare  were  offerd 
and  placed  upon  the  board  no  acceptable  line  was  composed. 
The  teacher  suggested  that  the  arrangement  of  the  words 
might  be  changed  and  the  meaning  of  the  line  retaind.  This 
led  to  the  present  arrangement  and  the  line  following  was 
easily  developt.  The  remainder  of  the  poem  was  composed 
with  such  variations  of  the  method  illustrated  as  the  situa- 


12 


Normal  School  Quarterly 

tions  suggested.  Simple  scanning  naturally  grew  out  of  this 
work.  It  proved  fascinating  and  became  a popular  form  of 
amusement. 

The  great  im-  Thus  far  we  have  emphasized  the  problems 
portance  of  of  getting  the  thought,  arousing  in  the  child 
much  oral  the  appropriate  emotions,  correct  pronuncia- 
reading.  tion,  getting  the  meaning  of  words,  the  ex- 
periential basis  of  interpretation,  and  the  dramatic  instinct. 
While  the  possibilities  of  expressing  the  thought  and  emotion 
of  the  author  depend  upon  the  degree  in  which  the  child  has  be- 
come possest  of  these  fundamental  processes,  ease  and  effec- 
tiveness in  expression  can  be  attaind  only  thru  much 
oral  reading.  The  child’s  natural  desire  to  read  aloud  those 
selections  which  appeal  to  him  gives  motiv  for  this  exercize 
and  calls  for  the  necessary  repetition. 

However,  while  the  child  may  be  willing  to  re-read  a se- 
lection for  the  pleasure  of  repeating  it,  variety  in  the  methods 
of  approaching  a lesson  for  this  purpose  will  give  greater 
content  to  his  interest  and  broaden  his  sympathy  for  the 
thought.  For  example,  after  a study  of  “Roland  and  his 
Horn”  as  previously  described,  a week  was  spent  in  its  oral 
reading.  The  first  assignment  required  a reading  of  the  con- 
versations in  which  Roland  took  a part,  Roland’s  speech  to 
his  soldiers,  and  his  address  to  his  sword  Dusendal.  The 
second  assignment  cald  for  a reading  of  the  conversations 
in  which  either  King  Marsilius  or  King  Charles  engaged. 
The  three  remaining  lessons  were  given  to  reading  and  re- 
lating the  story  in  the  order  written  and  such  assign- 
ments were  made  as  insured  preparation  for  the  day’s  work. 
As  part  of  a review  of  “A  Dog  of  Flanders”  several  recita- 
tions were  given  to  reading  such  passages  as  described 
Nello,  Petrasche,  John  Daas,  Alois,  Nello’s  home,  etc.  In 
fact,  there  are  innumerable  devices  thru  which  a repetition 
of  a story  for  the  purpose  of  securing  practis  in  oral  reading 
may  add  to  the  appreciation  of  the  thought  and  furnish  a 
motiv  for  study. 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermediate  Grades  13 

Great  value  of  Frequent  reading  on  the  part  of  the 
teacher’s  example,  teacher  also  inspires  a class  to  effort.  The 
emotion  which  he  feels  awakens  a kindred  emotion  in  child- 
ren and  they  emulate  the  standard  which  he  sets.  Nothing 
stirs  boys  and  girls  to  effort  more  than  the  representing  of 
a character  in  a piece  of  literature  while  the  teacher  inter- 
prets another  character  in  the  same  selection. 

A reason  for  poor  reading  often  lies  in  a lack  of  that 
broad  interest  in  printed  material  which  gives  the  child  a 
motiv  for  investigation.  To  the  child  reading  often  means 
The  problem  of  an  exercize  from  a prescribed  book  rather 
supplementary  than  the  key  which  unlocks  the  door  to  the 

reading.  facts  and  fancies  of  the  past  and  present. 
Adequate  supplementary  reading  matter  will  help  out  here. 
The  newspapers  and  magazines  are  full  of  live  material 
which  may  be  used  for  this  purpose.  In  spite  of  glaring  hed- 
lines  in  the  newspapers  and  numerous  articles  in  the  maga- 
zines, not  long  since,  some  fifth' grade  boys  were  found  who 
had  not  heard  of  a flying  machine. 

The  children  of  the  class  were  encouraged  to  express 
orally  their  knowledge  of  this  subject.  The  teacher  provided 
relevant  information  outside  the  experiences  of  the  children. 
Pictures  were  shown  illustrating  a dirigible,  a monoplane, 
and  a biplane.  Difficult  words  were  placed  upon  the 
board  as  they  occurd  and  at  the  close  of  the  exercize  the 
children  were  given  an  opportunity  to  pronounce  them. 
Then  each  child  was  askt  to  bring  to  the  teacher  the  next 
day  a short  newspaper  or  magazine  article  giving  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  aeronautics.  For  those  who  might  not  be 
able  to  secure  such  an  article  in  their  homes  the  teacher  pro- 
vided a number  of  newspapers  and  magazines  from  which 
they  could  obtain  the  required  material.  Before  class  time 
the  teacher  examind  the  clippings  brought  so  as  to  be  suf- 
ficiently acquainted  with  the  day’s  lesson  to  be  helpful  and 
to  discard  anything  unworthy  of  presentation . During  the 
recitation  period  each  child  either  red  his  article  or  related 


14 


Normal  School  Quarterly 

the  news  which  itcontaind.  This  class  is  now  collecting  materi- 
al on  aeronautics  and  occasionally  a reading  period  is  given 
to  the  subject. 

Animal  stories  also  make  good  supplementary  read- 
ing matter  and  are  easily  obtaind.  A set  of  circus  hand- 
bills naming  and  describing  the  different  animals  to  be  seen 
make  excellent  supplementary  reading  material.  The  mem- 
bers of  one  class  were  told  that  they  might  bring  jokes  to  be 
red  the  following  Friday.  It  was  evident  there  was  a strong 
motiv  for  preparing  that  assignment,  and  results  were  good. 

Motiv  The  value  of  giving  the  children  motiv  for 

and  interest,  work  has  been  illustrated.  Thru  right  mo- 
tivation the  teacher  may  arouse  enthusiasm  for  a lesson 
that  otherwise  might  be  considerd  an  irksome  task . For 
example,  in  story  telling  and  oral  reading  the  advantage  of 
an  audience  is  obvious.  When  this  is  desirable  the  class  may 
be  divided  into  groups  and  each  group  be  given  a different 
story.  Then  each  division  may  relate  or  read  its  story  to  the 
other  ones.  If  the  literature  of  a certain  author  is  to  be 
studied  each  child  may  be  allowd  to  choose  a selection  and 
read  it  to  the  class. 

Special  Poor  readers  may  be  helpt  by  giving  them 

cases.  a special  assignment.  One  boy  whose  read- 
ing was  very  weak  was  given  a story  to  read  to  the  class. 
Each  day  he  red  fifteen  or  twenty  lines  until  it  was  completed. 
The  remainder  of  the  class  were  interested  in  the  story 
and  gave  him  close  attention.  He  became  so  anxious  to  read 
well  that  he  begd  for  assistance  after  school,  carried 
the  exercize  home  for  study  and  in  various  ways  proved  his 
interest.  When  he  had  finisht  reading  the  story  he  had  good 
control  of  a selection  for  the  first  time  in  his  life.  The  im- 
petus which  he  receivd  from  this  work  entirely  changed  his 
attitude  toward  reading,  and  by  the  close  of  the  year  he  red 
as  well  as  the  majority  of  his  class. 


The  Teaching  of  Reading  in  the  Intermedia, te  Grades  15 

Concluding  In  the  teaching  of  reading  the  judgment 
remarks.  of  the  teacher  is  of  the  utmost  importance. 
He  should  have  clear  in  his  mind  the  needs  of  his  class  and 
aim  to  meet  them.  Each  selection  should  be  studied  and  the 
methods  which  will  best  enable  the  class  to  secure  control  of 
ts  various  problems  decided  upon.  Some  exercizes  are  valu- 
able for  developing  strength  in  securing  details  of  thought 
and  giving  it  oral  expression,  while  such  treatment  of  a piece 
of  literature  in  which  beauty  of  language  is  its  pre-eminent 
quality  might  be  little  short  of  sacrilege.  Many  selections 
possess  such  qualities  of  sentiment  or  beauty  of  language 
that€they  should  be  memorized.  Others  should  be  past  over 
quickly.  One  exercize  may  be  especially  valuable  for  devel- 
oping skill  in  oral  reading  and  the  chief  value  of  another  may 
be  its  power  to  awaken  the  emotions.  Some  serv  their  pur- 
pose if  red  to  the  class  by  the  teacher;  but  the  best  results 
are  obtaind  by  varying  the  mode  of  treatment  according  to 
the  character  of  the  selection  and  the  needs  of  the  pupils. 


The  Illinois  State  Normal  University 


Offers  superior  facilities  for  the  training  of  teachers.  Its  equip- 
ment includes: 

A library  of  21,000  volumes  and  14,000  pamflets.  Physical,  chem- 
ical, biological,  physchological,  and  geografical  laboratories  supplied 
with  new  apparatus. 

A school  garden  with  two  and  one-fourth  acres,  and  a well-stockt 
greenhouse. 

A new,  commodious  bilding  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  teachers 
in  manual  training,  art,  and  household  economy. 

A well-equipt  gymnasium. 

A campus  of  fifty-seven  acres,  with  every  advantage  for  athletic 
games. 

Its  faculty  includes  forty-one  teachers,  eleven  of  them  training 
teachers. 

Four  regular  programs  of  study  are  provided. 

A two-year  program  for  graduates  of  superior  high  schools. 

A three-year  program  for  graduates  of  village  high  schools. 

A four-year  program  for  students  needing  longer  academic  prep- 
aration. 

A four-year  teacher’s  college  course  leading  to  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Education. 

The  regular  programs  all  include  a review  of  the  common 
branches,  music,  drawing,  five  terms  of  psychology  and  pedagogy, 
three  terms  of  practis  teaching  and  such  advanced  courses  as  may  be 
needed. 

Electiv  substitutes  are  provided  for  students  preparing  for  pri- 
mary teaching  and  other  specific  work. 

Special  programs  are  also  provided  each  two  years  in  length  in  art, 
manual  training,  household  art,  and  household  science.  These  are 
open  to  high-school  graduates  or  other  students  of  equal  preparation. 

For  the  summer  school  of  1911  are  provided  sixty-eight  instructors 
and  one  hundred  five  courses  including  almost  every  sort  of  work 
needed  by  teachers  in  our  public  school  system. 

The  spring  term  begins  March  20. 

The  first  summer  term  begins  June  12. 

The  second  summer  term  begins  July  24. 

For  catalogs  and  announcements  write  to 

David  Felmley,  President 
Normal,  Illinois. 


UNIVERSITY  Of  Hl.uv.  i5 


State 

Reformatory 

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